Naruto: Forever After
by R.G. Skylar
Summary: With the war over and things finally returning to how they once were, Naruto and the others can finally rest easy...or so they think. There is a new threat emerging after the war, but who is this person, what secrets do they know about the Shinju tree and what, exactly, are they planning? To top it all off, a new vigilante called 'The Shadow Cat' has been lurking in the darkness...
1. Prologue

Naruto: Forever After

**Note: I do not own the Naruto universe or any of the Naruto/Naruto Shippuden characters (Masashi Kishimoto does).**

Prologue

Sasuke stood on a cliff side, as he looked out over the ninja land. The moon was out in full and it had been several weeks since he had set off on his journey to see the world with his own eyes.

He had learned a lot since then. One of these things was that the world was still in a state of emergency, despite the war being over. Petty thieves and other criminals were taking advantage of the lack of ninjas being in the villages and because many of the ninjas were injured in the war, many of the criminals were still active.

However, as word had it, there was a masked person going around and stopping the pillagers and thieves. This person was nicknamed 'The Shadow Cat' and a chilling phrase was going around with their name; _beware the men who fear cats_.

It didn't make sense to him until recently, when a couple villagers from the Land of Fire had been talking about it. Apparently, this masked person had taken it upon themselves to decide the fate of criminals. If they showed no promise of changing their ways, or had done unspeakable things to people, they were slaughtered. If the person showed resentment or had a chance of turning good again, then that person would be spared and they'd, for some unknown reason, would begin to have a fear of cats.

Not many had seen this person either and, apparently, they struck like lightning. There one moment, gone the next. The people who had gotten a glimpse of this person all said the same thing, it was a black-cloaked person with a matching black-cat, Anbu mask.

It was strange, however, because none of the hidden villages had that mask. Most of the Anbu masks he had seen were white, but Sasuke supposed one could be easily altered.

As the breeze blew his black hair forward, he wondered if Naruto and the others had heard of this yet. He considered going back to the village with this news, but he decided to wait until he had more information.

Caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't hear the person creeping up, until they were directly behind him.

Spinning around with katana in hand, he sent chidori flying in every direction to form a protective barrier.

A burly man with curly, dark brown hair and light brown skin bellowed as he stared the leaf ninja down, "I should have known that I couldn't sneak up on an Uchiha. I'm surprised that I was able to get that close though. Is there something on your mind? Or perhaps someone?"

"You know my name," Sasuke replied, ignoring the strong man's question. "I can only assume that you specifically sought me out. Who are you and what do you want with me?"

"Getting straight to the point as always I see," the man sighed, dark eyes glinting in the moonlight with amusement. "Just like boss said you would. Ah, but that doesn't matter. I only need a moment of your time. Now, look here boy."

The man held up a weird, wooden object that looked like a wooden gourd with a weird, glass object in the center. Curious, Sasuke stared at it, unsure of what it was.

Just then, his eyes began to burn. He was able to look away with one of his eyes, but the one with the Rinnegan just couldn't look away from that mysterious object.

"What…are you doing?" Sasuke asked in strain, as he felt chakra being pulled from his left eye. "Answer me!"

"I'm taking the chakra from your eyes, obviously," the man responded simply. "And right now that one on your left is producing heaps of it."

Sasuke struggled to move but he felt frozen in place as his chakra flowed from his eye, which was getting progressively weaker.

Finally, the sensation stopped and the man looked down at the mysterious object in disdain, "It's full already? Boss isn't going to be happy about this…you still have your Sharingan...oh well. It'll have to do. That Rinnegan sure had a lot of chakra."

"Had?" Sasuke asked, collapsing to the ground after being freed from his paralysis. "What are you talking about? Who are you and what have you done to my eye?"

Sasuke held his hand to his left eye as he spoke, while the burly man smirked down at him. "You sure do ask a lot of questions…but I'll answer some of them. After all, I think it's time people knew of the boss' brilliance, even though he told me not to say anything."

He jumped up to a tree branch, as Sasuke prepared himself for an attack. Just as he did, he realized that the glass part of the object the man was holding had turned into an eye with the Rinnegan. Who was this man?

"My name is Takeo and I now have the power to read your mind," he confirmed ominously. "This object, you seem curious as to what it is, yes? It is an object crafted from the wood of the Shinju tree. Surely you remember what that is, yes? Of course you do. You're remembering it now. The war, your friends, and Kaguya."

"I was told that the tree was sealed away by the ninja hidden in the cloud," Sasuke recalled. "How can that thing you have there be crafted from it?"

"Another good question, Sasuke," Takeo nodded in approval. "You see, my boss, the man who hired me to aid him in his quest, had been watching the movements of ninja for a very long time. He knew that the war was coming and prepared himself accordingly, so he could gather as much of this ancient and holy wood as he could. Why, you ask? That is simple. You see, my boss's great, great grandfather knew of the tree's hidden powers. A long time ago, before Kaguya ate the forbidden fruit, a man began to study the tree. He discovered that the tree's wood could be made into various enchanted objects that could fuse with a person's chakra and even managed to successfully craft a couple things, until the tree was destroyed along with Kaguya. So for years the man passed down the information he had gathered on that tree until the day came that the Shinju tree would rise once more."

"Are you saying that there are more objects like that?" Sasuke asked in dismay. "Objects that can sap a person's chakra?"

The dark-brown haired ninja laughed, "They can do more than just that Sasuke. This object here is fusing with my chakra as we speak. I can already read your mind and soon I'll learn how to do all the other things that the Rinnegan is capable."

"Wait," Sasuke demanded, as Takeo stood up to go. "How much of this holy wood has your boss obtained? And who is 'your boss' exactly?"

"Do you honestly expect me to tell you something like that?" Takeo laughed. "Don't bother trying to figure out how to attack me while I read your thoughts either. It's useless. The chakra I absorbed from your eye is going to aid my boss well. Now, I must go."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and leapt toward Takeo, however, the man simply dodged out of the way.

Laughing as he made his escape he yelled out to Sasuke, "It's a shame that you're the only one with a Rinnegan. Imagine the chaos we could cause with two? Then I might be able to rip out your soul and take your memories."

His laughs echoed throughout the night as Sasuke pursued him, but after losing so much chakra from his left eye, he couldn't manage to keep up with the ninja.

Gritting his teeth, while his left eye remained shut, he frowned in frustration. It seemed there was another threat looming in the shadows and he had to figure out what they were planning before it was too late.

Were they associated with the Shadow Cat? He couldn't be too sure, nor could he think straight as his vision became blurry. He considered heading back to the village hidden in the leaves to tell them what he knew, just before he blacked out.

**R.G. Skylar: So this is my new Naruto fanfic under my new penname (yay). I don't know if any of my followers still use this site regularly or not, but I hope they find my new fanfic and enjoy it. **

**The main reason why I ended my last fanfic was because I started it where I stopped reading in the manga…which was in the middle at the beginning of the fourth great ninja war. I wanted to start at a definitive point rather than a random one, so I decided to start a new story at the end of the manga (sort of). **

**Basically my fanfic starts out after Sasuke leaves the village…anything after that is sort of non-existent (aka the whole adult thing). :P**

**Well I hope you enjoyed this prologue and the short introduction. Keep your eyes out for chapter one, with the return of Kyoko in a new light.**

**Also please check out my original novel **_**Scarlett Witch **_**on :D  
><strong> 


	2. The Start of a New Tale

Naruto: Forever After

**Note: I do not own the Naruto universe or any of the Naruto/Naruto Shippuden characters (Masashi Kishimoto does).**

The Start of a New Tale

The black mask's crystal eyes glinted in the moonlight, as the cloaked ninja watched the scene below and waited for a chance to strike. One of the girl's screamed, while some of the men laughed. Her friend looked on in horror and the hidden ninja took out a black kunai. It was almost time, the ninja decided, as they adjusted the black cat mask.

"This war has proved to be a blessing for those of us who couldn't care less," one of the males joked with his three friends. "We can pillage all we want and there's no one to stop us."

"Hey guys," one of the smaller men said cautiously. "Maybe we should be careful. The war is over after all."

"Do you seriously think that?" the greasiest looking one asked. "They've all gotten injured. It'll take weeks…no…months for them to fully recuperate."

Three of them laughed again, as one of the males grabbed the woman by the arm, making her fall to the ground.

"Come on, ladies," the guy who had knocker her over jeered. "You should be celebrating with us."

"We don't want to go anywhere with you," the girl's friend replied defiantly, knocking back her attacker and rushing to the other lady's side. "Now let us go!"

The biggest of the males in the group looked at her in annoyance and responded, "Why you little…"

As he reached out to grab her, a black kunai sliced his arm. The wind picked up right about then, and the four men stared at the kunai that was stuck in the ground. A black paper bomb that was attached to it, blew in the wind like a flag.

"What was that?" he asked in dismay, as a drop of blood rolled down his arm. "Who's there?"

The wind howled and a silence hung thick in the air. The man gritted his teeth and opened his mouth to yell out, but not a sound was heard accept the numerous grunts and thuds, as three of the four men hit the ground.

The two girls and remaining guy looked around in alarm, but no one was around. The smaller man that had warned the others about being cautious, looked up into the trees and caught a sight of crystal eyes staring back.

"T-The Shadow Cat?" he cried out in dismay, looking to the ground and realising that a black cat sat in place of the kunai that had once been there. "N-No. Please! I promise I won't do anything like this again! P-Please don't kill me!"

The black cat yowled and the small man took off screaming, while the two women sat there and stared at the cat in fear.

It just stood there though and then sat back down. It washed its face for a bit, and then leapt away, leaving the two ladies by themselves.

They two of them stood up, looked around in astonishment and then, after a while, walked back toward their village. The ninja clad in black watched them go with the black kunai in hand. Another group of criminals had been eliminated.

It was all part of the Shadow Cat's plan to cleanse the world and purge the evils from it, so no one would ever have to suffer like she did…

"Lady Kyoko!" the elder from Taho Village, a small village in the Land of Fire, greeted. "Are you leaving so soon? Your help was much appreciated by all. It's a shame you aren't staying for a bit longer."

The brown haired girl smiled sweetly, as she fixed her high ponytail and rubbed her hands on her apron, "I'm sorry, Iseki. My father need me to keep going. I am the daughter of a peddler after all."

"Ah, yes," the elderly nodded, his face wrinkled and eyes barely visible. "I suppose you wouldn't do very good business if you only stayed in own village. Well, I'd like to thank you for everything you've done for us."

Kyoko nodded and wiped the sweat off her brow, as she put the last of her things onto the cart. Her bangs just slightly fell into her eyes and she made a mental not to get them cut soon.

The sun was beaming down, like it always was in the Land of Fire. It made her hair a lighter brown that what it normally was and tanned her skin a bit as well.

She lifted up her dress, as she climbed up into the cart and took the reins of her horse. She looked down at the short, elderly man, who had his hands behind his back.

"Thank you for your business and I wish your village well," Kyoko said rather robotically, as a child ran over to the elderly man's side. "Stay safe and be careful."

The older man smiled, "You too, my dear. There are still many dastardly people running around. The ninjas from the hidden villages won't be out again for a while."

"Yes, please be safe Ms. Tanaka," the young boy chimed in. "My father hopes you'll be able to sell his crops for a high price after you helped us repair the damage to his farm from those pillagers."

"It's no problem if I don't or if I do," Kyoko assured. "Right now my business is worthless if I can't help the villages get back on their feet."

The boy smiled up at Kyoko and handed her a pair of heeled sandals, "These were left here by a kunoichi a long time ago, before the war. I'm sure she probably isn't coming back for them and my mom thought they would be more useful to you."

Kyoko smiled and reached down to take them, "Thank you very much. Please give your mom my gratitude as well."

The boy smiled a toothy grin and rubbed underneath his nose with his finger. After that the whole village came to see her off and she waved at them as she set off into the distance. Her long hair blew in the wind behind her and, soon, she was no longer visible.

Iseki watched her go with a serious expression and muttered to himself, "What a strange girl. What kind of father would let his daughter travel as a peddler in the middle of a war? Hmmm…"

**R.G. Skylar: So just a short chapter to start off. I'll write a longer chapter for chapter 2. This is mostly just an insight to my main character (and the return of) Kyoko Tanaka. Her backstory will be similar to the previous story I wrote, but I feel like it'll have a little more depth this time around. I hope you enjoy and stay tuned for the next chapter in Kyoko's exciting new tale. :D Thanks for reading!**


	3. Beware the Men Who Fear Cats

Naruto: Forever After

**Note: I do not own the Naruto universe or any of the Naruto/Naruto Shippuden characters (Masashi Kishimoto does).**

Beware the Men Who Fear Cats

"Oh, do you think he's going to be alright?" a female voice gushed. "I mean, he was totally out of it when we found him."

"I hope he stays like this forever," another female voice swooned. "He's so handsome."

There were a few girly giggles and then a grumble from someone else as a male voice spoke, "Girls, get away from him this instant! He needs his rest, so let him sleep. You just managed to escape a troubling ordeal yourselves, so you should be resting too!"

There was a couple protests as one of the female voices complained, "But Grandpa…"

"Enough," the elderly man exclaimed. "Ayame, please let the boy rest and take your friend outside."

Sasuke slightly opened his eyes and realized that he was lying in a bed with a dampened cloth over his forehead. He tried looking around, but his left eye strained and caused a dull headache.

"Oh, he's waking up!" a girl with her black hair in a ponytail announced, as her friend in brown pigtails perked up. "Oh, he's so cute when he's disoriented."

"Here, boy," the elderly man ordered, as Sasuke looked over to him. "Do you know where you are?"

"No…," Sasuke answered, as he looked around the small room. "What happened?"

"We found you passed out on the ground," the girl with the black hair, Ayame, answered. "We had just been saved from some pillagers who had kidnapped us and we came across you when we were returning to the village."

Sasuke put his right hand to his left eye and winced, as he remembered what had happened. He began to sit up, but immediately regretted doing so. He was obviously still suffering from the sudden loss of a large amount of chakra.

"You need to lay back down," the elderly man scolded. "I don't know what happened to you, but your chakra levels have really taken a punch and that missing arm…"

"Thank you for your hospitality," Sasuke replied, dismissing the old man's orders. "But I really must go. There is an important matter I must deal with."

The man's zigzagged mustache twitched, as he looked on with annoyance, "Not in your condition! You must rest! I have let people in this village get hurt already. I will not let it happen again!"

"Grandpa…," Ayame trailed off looking at her grandfather sorrowfully. "It wasn't your fault that we got kidnapped. We should have been more careful, like you said."

Ayame's friend nodded vigorously in agreement, however, the elderly man still didn't look convinced.

"What happened before I arrived here?" Sasuke asked, wondering if whatever had happened had anything to do with the Takeo guy who had stolen his Rinnegan. "Who kidnapped you?"

"Just some pillagers," Ayame replied dismissively. "We were kidnapped last night, but luckily we were saved…"

"Still," the old man interrupted. "It wouldn't have happened if I had protected my people better. It seems we were lucky to have the Shadow Cat on our side."

This piqued Sasuke's interest, making him sit up straighter, "The Shadow Cat?"

"Yes," the elderly man nodded, playing with his mustache. "That pesky ninja that thinks they can take the law into their own hands…and yet this time, I'm grateful for their help."

"Did you see their face?" Sasuke pressed further, turning to Ayame and her friend. "Do you know what they looked like? Where were they heading?"

"No one ever sees the face of the Shadow Cat," Ayame's grandfather answered for her. "You don't plan on pursing this vigilante, do you? In your condition, you wouldn't stand a chance."

"Plus, I don't think you could ever find them," Ayame put in. "The only person we think that saw them was one of the pillagers that escaped.

"What?" the old man asked in disbelief. "You never told me about that!"

"Sorry Grandpa," Ayame apologized. "I didn't remember until now. He seemed pretty freaked out about it. I believe he went to the west of here if you want to talk to him."

"I do, thank you," Sasuke nodded, bowing in gratitude. "I will be on my way and I also thank you for your hospitality."

"Now hold on just a minute," the village elder interrupted, standing in Sasuke's way as he got up. "I thought I made it clear that you were to not go anywhere. You need rest!"

"I assure you that I'll be fine," Sasuke told him, as he walked past. "I am a ninja from the Hidden Leaf after all."

"…Hidden Leaf?" the old man repeated. "Really? You're from there?"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke confirmed, looking over his shoulder at his listeners. "I must go report the findings I have witnessed to the Hokage so something can be done about them immediately."

With that, he walked out, which made Ayame turn to her grandfather in surprise, "Aren't you going to go after him, grandfather? You seemed pretty certain that he needed to rest some more."

"I think he'll be fine," the elderly man grumbled, handing his granddaughter a pill. "But hurry and give him this for his chakra. Don't do anything else, y'hear? It's best you stay away from that boy…I'm not too sure about him."

Ayame nodded uncertainly and hurried to track down the handsome boy with her friend, while her grandfather stood there deep in thought.

_"Any ninja with the last name Uchiha is bad news," he thought to himself unhappily. "I hope for his sake that he doesn't find the Shadow Cat…or maybe it will be better he does. That way, he'll pay for the bad things I'm sure he's done…"_

Keeping to the trees, Sasuke realized that the pill the old man had given him was working pretty quickly. Ayame had told him that it was something the village elders had created to rapidly restore one's chakra. It worked pretty well, Sasuke decided, but it tasted bad enough that he'd prefer not to need one again.

Keeping his eyes and ears open for any surprise attacks, he continued on in the direction that he hoped the Shadow Cat had gone. He needed to see for himself who this ninja was and he also needed to confirm that they weren't working with the man who had stolen his Rinnegan.

"I'm begging, please take me with you," Sasuke heard a plea from up ahead. "They're following me. I need to get away from this place. I'll even work for you! You don't even have to pay me!"

Landing quietly on the ground, Sasuke came across what appeared to be a peddler and a man. The man was on his knees in front of the peddler's cart, while he begged the girl to take him with her.

"I don't need any help," the girl replied defiantly. "Now move out of my way. I have villages to go to."

The man seemed insistent on staying where he was, so Sasuke spoke up, "What's going on here?"

The two of them looked up in surprise at the raven haired ninja as he approached them. The girl looked at the man irritably and crossed her arms.

"This man won't let me get out of my way," she replied. "I'm supposed to be in the next village by night fall and he won't get out of the road."

"I just need to go with someone to a safe place," the wild-eyed man pleaded. "That ninja is still around. They're _watching me_."

"Who's watching you?" Sasuke asked immediately. "Who are you so afraid of?"

The man's face turned grim with fear, as he remembered somebody or something. Even the girl sitting in the cart looked on in interest.

Just then, a black cat jumped from under the cart's tarp to sit beside the girl. The man took one look at it and screamed, as he scrambled backward and ran down the road as fast as he could.

Sasuke and the girl watched him go in confusion, as the cat stretched itself out, before gracefully landing on the ground.

"I wonder what scared him so badly," Sasuke wondered aloud, as the cat bounded away. "Maybe he's the pillager that the two girls were talking about."

"Well, you know what they say," the girl piped up, her long brown hair blowing in the gentle breeze in front of her. "Beware the men who fear cats."

Sasuke looked at her in surprise, "You've heard that phrase before? Do you know what it means?"

The girl fixed her high ponytail, as she looked off in the distance where the man had ran off and responded, "Well, I've heard it's because the men who fear cats have done some bad things, but were spared by the Shadow Cat. Perhaps that's why he said that 'they were watching'. Maybe he thinks that whenever he sees a cat, it's the Shadow Cat keeping an eye on him. I guess it's a pretty good idea because there must be tons of cats roaming around all the time. Who knows? Maybe this Shadow Cat person really is a cat."

"You sure seem to know a lot about this," Sasuke remarked suspiciously. "I've just learned about this Shadow Cat person."

"Well I do travel a lot, seeing as I'm a peddler and all," the girl shrugged. "I hear tons of rumours along the way."

Sasuke didn't look convinced, "You're pretty young to be a peddler. You look no older than me."

"Well, it's my father's business," the girl laughed nervously. "I'm just helping him out."

"Either you have a bad father…or just a really stupid one," the raven haired ninja replied bluntly. "Why would any father send his daughter out for business purposes right after a war with so many criminals running about?"

The girl laughed nervously again and scratched the side of her face in embarrassment. Then, seemingly giving in, she sighed.

"Alright, I lied," she admitted. "My father died a long time ago when I was young. My grandfather took over his business to help support the two of us, but recently he's gotten sick and had to stay in a village to be looked after, so I took the reins of the business, both figuratively and literally, so I could help look after him. He's done so much for me after all."

Sasuke regarded her carefully, "Whatever your reason is…it's not safe to be out here by yourself. Especially when it gets dark."

"I know," the girl replied dismissively. "But I've learned self defense and I've been following where I hear the Shadow Cat goes because crime seems to diminish in an area whenever they're around…I figured that it was the safest thing to do."

"Wait," Sasuke interrupted. "You're following the Shadow Cat? Do you know where they'll be active next?"

"Well, not exactly," the girl replied, sweat dropping at the same time. "I basically just follow the rumours and hope I'm going the right way."

Sasuke thought for a moment, "Where do you think they're heading?"

"I've been marking the places that the Shadow Cat has been seen for sure," the girl explained, pulling out a map and showing it to Sasuke. "They seem to be moving in a linear fashion."

Sasuke thought for a moment and followed along the map with his finger, "If they keep going this way….they'll head straight to…the Hidden Leaf."

"Does that place mean anything to you?" the girl asked innocently. "I know it's one of the hidden villages…"

The Uchiha paused, looking slightly uncomfortable, "It's my home."

Suddenly a gust of wind kicked up, blowing the map straight out of the young girl's hands.

"Oh no," she exclaimed, as it blew through the air and into the trees. "I guess I didn't have a strong enough grip on it."

Jumping away, Sasuke retrieved the map before it could fly any farther. He studied it for a bit before bringing it back, and then paused next to the girl's horse.

"Do you mind if I keep this?" the dark-eyed ninja asked. "I'll buy it off of you."

"Huh?" the girl asked in confusion. "You want to buy it off of me? You don't plan on meeting up with the Shadow Cat…do you?"

"There are some things I need to find out for myself before I return to the Hidden Leaf," Sasuke replied ominously. "And I can only find out if I meet up with this 'Shadow Cat' personally."

The girl bit her lip, as she stared at the ninjas left arm, "I don't know what happened to you, but I think you're going to need help if you plan on facing this ninja head on. I mean, barely anyone's been able to even lay eyes on this person before."

"I won't have a problem laying eyes on them," Sasuke assured, revealing his Sharingan. "And I don't plan on fighting them either. I just need answers."

The girl looked at him in astonishment, "Your eyes! Are you an Uchiha?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and nodded, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha and I'm a ninja from the leaf."

The girl looked on in awe and nodded repeatedly, "Sure, you can have the map, but you don't have to pay me at all."

Sasuke smirked and handed her some money anyway, "It's the least I can do. You can't make any money if you just keep giving things away for free. Also, make sure you get to the next village before the sun goes down. You shouldn't be out at night by yourself."

The girl fake saluted and replied, "Roger."

As Sasuke watched her go, he looked at the map in his hands. He had to find the Shadow Cat tonight, so he could go back to the leaf by tomorrow. Time was of the essence.


	4. Chasing Cats

Naruto: Forever After

**Note: I do not own the Naruto universe or any of the Naruto/Naruto Shippuden characters (Masashi Kishimoto does).**

Chasing Cats

The Shadow Cat waited impatiently for the criminals to come into view. The ninja, whom was clad in black as usual, had a guest tonight and any distractions had to be dealt with as soon as possible. Finally, male laughter and a female cackle wafted through the air.

"Did you see the _horror_ on their faces?" the female with messy, black hair asked. "It was absolutely _delightful_."

The way she drew out each word, made the Shadow Cat's blood boil ever so slightly.

The woman's male companions didn't look so convinced, however, and the more muscular of the bunch spoke up, "Is it really necessary to hurt people though? I mean, we're thieves, not murderers."

"Nonsense!" the woman shrieked. "It's what those people _deserve_. They live in luxury, while we struggled to survive!"

The three men still didn't looked too convinced. It was all the information the Shadow Cat needed to decide their fate.

Just as they passed by with their cart in tow, a kunai with a black paper bomb embedded itself into the soft ground.

The woman's crazed, grey eyes widened and she snapped at her men, "Stay on your toes! We have an uninvited guest."

She failed to get a response, however, and when she turned around, the three men lay unconscious on the ground.

The woman looked around in a wild craze with fear in her eyes, "Who's there! Show yourself!"

When no one answered, she took off at a run. It was long, before something hit her at full force. The last thing she saw was crystal eyes from a black cat mask, as a lightning style pierced her abdomen.

As soon as the woman hit the ground, the Shadow Cat picked up the kunai from the ground and jumped back up into the tree they had been residing in.

When the three men finally regained consciousness, they woke to see their leader dead on the ground.

The most muscular man of the bunch spoke up with a quivering voice, "WH-What happened?"

The man with sandy brown hair jumped a bit, when he looked up in the tree and saw that they weren't alone.

"Up there!" he cried. "It's the Shadow Cat."

The three men backed away and stared up at the ninja in fear. The ninja above them pointed to their cart and back the way they had come.

"Y-Yes!" the strongest man nodded. "I-I promise we'll return everything we stole! Every last thing! Come on men!"

They took their cart and sped off in the direction they had come, not seeing the black cat tail that had taken residence under their tarp.

The Shadow cat watched them go into the sunset and knew with certainty that the small cat that insisted on following them, would make sure everything that had been stolen would get returned. What happened after that, the Shadow cat did not care, so long as the men didn't return to their evil ways.

The black ninja sighed. Time was drawing to a close and soon a formidable opponent would show up. They may only have one arm, but the ninja knew not to underestimate him. He was an Uchiha from the Hidden Leaf after all.

Just how did the Shadow Cat know all this? Simple, they had many ways of gathering information. Nothing went on that the Shadow cat didn't already know about.

Finally sensing the presence of their guest, the Shadow Cat looked up into the moonlit night to see the raven-haired ninja land gracefully on the ground and look up to stare at the body of the woman on the ground.

The Shadow Cat knew that this person was Sasuke Uchiha and stood up to wait for him to acknowledge their presence.

"So you're the Shadow Cat I've heard so much about?" he asked, his dark eyes trained carefully on the crystal gems of the black cat mask. It was exactly how people had described it to him.

When the ninja didn't say a word, Sasuke continued, "Why are you killing criminals? What are you plotting?"

The Shadow Cat regarded him carefully before speaking, "I have never let anyone hear my voice, but I'll allow it just this once and answer your questions."

The voice was distorted from the mask the ninja was wearing and Sasuke couldn't tell whether the ninja was a man or a woman.

"Like I've already said," Sasuke replied simply. "I want to know what you're planning and why you are killing criminals."

He looked pointedly at the crazy woman lying on the ground and then looked back up at the cat-faced ninja.

"If you are wondering if I have a bigger scheme at plan," the ninja answered. "I do not. I am trying to rid this world of evil. Something you hidden ninja have failed to do for many, many years."

Sasuke's look darkened, "What makes you think that what you're doing to these ninja is any better than what they have done?"

The Shadow Cat stood up straighter, "Do you have any more questions? Or are you just wasting my time now?"

Sasuke stared at the ninja carefully, trying to read their body language, "Do you know a man named Takeo?"

The Shadow Cat seemed to pause and think for a minute before replying, "Never heard of him."

Suddenly, Sasuke disappeared in a cloud a smoke. A shadow clone. The Shadow Cat never moved, however, and Sasuke was behind them in a flash, piercing them with his Katana.

Turning back slightly, the ninja wondered aloud before turning into a cloud of smoke, "I thought you just want to talk?"

Frowning, Sasuke felt the ninja's presence vanish. He had been right, it had been a clone all along. How had they known that he was looking to talk to them, and more importantly, was everything they had said true?

He couldn't shake the feeling that the Shadow Cat really didn't know anything about the man named Takeo, but at the same time, he wasn't too sure if they truly had an ulterior motive for dealing with criminals.

He looked down at the female ninja who had been the Shadow Cat's latest victim. It had been a clean kill and Sasuke couldn't see any reason why anyone would want to kill such a low-life besides to punish them.

If that was the case, why did the Shadow Cat care so much to go this far? It was a question he couldn't really answer. Looking up at the moon, Sasuke decided that it was time to head back to the Hidden Leaf with the information he had gathered.


	5. Welcome to Konoha!

Naruto: Forever After

**Note: I do not own the Naruto universe or any of the Naruto/Naruto Shippuden characters (Masashi Kishimoto does).**

Welcome to Konoha!

Kyoko yawned, as the sun beamed down on her. She was laying on the ground and letting her skin soak up the sun. A black cat lay curled up next to her, purring away.

She smiled and stroked its plushy fur. This same cat, she realized, seem to follow her wherever she went. The black cat was watching her.

Goosebumps spread across her arms like wildfire, and she repressed the urge to giggle from the thrill of realizing she was being watched, or rather, looked after.

It was midday and the brown haired peddler was taking a break from her travels. She was only minutes away from the Village Hidden in the Leaves and she had decided to reward herself with some down time, since she had arrived earlier than she had expected.

Just then, the sun went behind some clouds and she realized that it was time to go. It looked like it was about to rain soon and she really didn't want to get caught in it. She hated getting wet.

Hopping back into the cart with the black cat following her, she took the reins and started off toward the Hidden Leaf once more.

It wasn't long before the gates came into view and soon she was rolling through them.

"Stop!" a voice rang out. "We need to check your things."

Kyoko looked down at the two ninja guards along the entrance and tightened the reins on her horses to get them to come to a stop.

She looked at them in confusion, "Pardon?"

"I said that we need to check your things," the ninja with dark circles under his eyes repeated. "It's mandatory now. We've heard that there's some suspicious ninja roaming around."

"But I'm just a peddler," Kyoko argued, beginning to panic. "I'm not a threat, nor a ninja."

"Then you won't have anything to hide, right miss?" the other ninja smiled, as he began to take the tarp off of the cart. "Sorry, it's protocol."

Kyoko's heart began to race and her heart started to pound in her chest, as she realized this might not have been such a great idea after all.

"Wait," a familiar, deep voice rang out. "I know her. She means no harm."

Looking up towards the sun, Kyoko saw Sasuke walking toward them. Her eyes widened when she saw him. In place of his left arm was a new one that was completely bandaged up. How was it possible?

"Oh, Sasuke," ninja guard number two acknowledged. "She's with you?"

Sasuke nodded and the ninja guard with dark circles under his eyes scratched the back of his head, "Oh, sorry. With the numbers of suspicious ninjas increasing we just wanted to make sure nobody snuck into the leaf."

"It's alright," Kyoko smiled at the two of them. "You two were just doing your job."

"Come on," Sasuke urged. "I'll show you where you can trade and sell your goods."

A few minutes later, she continued on through the streets of Konoha with Sasuke walking beside her. This village was much bigger than any she had been in previously and she was awed by the amount of people and the sizes of the buildings she passed.

"So, you finally made it here," Sasuke finally said, breaking the silence. "Does that mean the Shadow Cat is too?"

Kyoko's blood ran cold, as she turned to face Sasuke. She regarded his face carefully, but he gave away nothing about what he knew.

"I suppose so," she shrugged. "Like I said when we first met, I follow the rumours and since you said it seemed like they were heading to the Hidden Leaf, I decided to come here."

Sasuke nodded and then stopped walking, "This is the main shopping district. See you."

With that, he left. Kyoko looked around at the vegetable stands around her and shrugged. Sasuke clearly wasn't the most sociable of ninja. That didn't matter to her, though. Right now she needed to get to work.

The sun had nearly vanished below the horizon by the time Kyoko was finished. She had made a considerable number of good trades and sales. It was all in all a very good day and she decided to celebrate by eating out.

She had tied her horse up in one of the horse stations, which she didn't even realize existed till now, and then looked for a place to eat.

She wanted to head out tonight, so she decided on a restaurant near the entrance of the village, a ramen shop called Ramen Ichiraku. It was recommended to her by a villager she had asked.

Moving the curtains aside, she stepped in and noticed right away how good the food smelled. Ordering a bowl for herself she sat at the end of the bar, away from the entrance, and waited for her meal.

"So I hear that you're a peddler," the cook says to her. "My name's Teuchi. I was wondering if you had any interesting ingredients for my ramen that I could buy off of you. I must say, though, I didn't expect you to be so young."

Kyoko smiled, "I get that a lot and, sorry, but I sold the last of my food items to one of the vegetable shop owners in town. I do have a few bundles of wheat from out west. Perhaps you'd be interested in them? However, they aren't going to be cheap. They were the best of the crop. They're a perfect golden colour and so soft that you'd want to sleep on them."

"Hmmm," Teuchi thought. "That does sound great. I could make my noodles from it, but I don't think I have enough for them. Thanks for the offer and here's your meal, enjoy!"

Kyoko felt bad for turning him down, he seemed like such an honestly good person and there weren't many of those people around anymore.

Breaking apart her chopsticks, she thought for a moment, and then began to eat. She couldn't believe how good the food tasted. She supposed that she had gotten so used to eating fish and whatever she could find, that she forget about what other food tasted like. It was savory and the noodles were cooked perfectly, not too soft or too hard. The broth was another story altogether. This, as silly as it sounded, was perfection.

"You know," Kyoko spoke up. "I think we can reach a deal with the wheat."

"Really?" Teuchi smiled instantly. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well," Kyoko started, getting down to business. "How about 10,000 ryo and a free bowl of ramen for life? There's 20 bundles of wheat in my cart right now with your name on it and if I get any good quality vegetables, you'll be the first to know."

Teuchi practically leapt over the counter to shake her hand, "You have a deal."

Kyoko smiled. She wasn't sure when she planned on coming back to the Hidden Leaf, since it was fairly dangerous grounds for her to be on, but at least she knew she could come here to get a decent meal.

She promised to Teuchi to get the wheat when she was done eating, and then chowed down on the rest of her ramen. As she did, a loud, blond haired ninja walked in.

"Hey Teuchi and Ayame," he said to the cook and the younger woman who had just appeared from the back. "One bowl of the usual."

"Well if it isn't Naruto," Teuchi laughed. "Funny seeing you here."

The three of them laughed and Kyoko realised that this Naruto person must come here all the time. It was a wonder that he isn't fat, she thought to herself.

Suddenly, a weird sensation came over her. Naruto…she had heard that name somewhere before, but where?

She scrounged around in her head for the information she was looking for, when suddenly, he turned his bright and smiling face toward her.

"Hey!" he greeted. "I haven't seen you around here before. Who are you?"

"Naruto," Ayame scolded. "Is that really a way to greet someone?"

"Oh, right," he laughed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright," Kyoko replied carefully, as she realised who this ninja was. "I'm a peddler and I'm not from around here. My name's Kyoko."

"Wow, a peddler?" he asked in astonishment. "But you're so young! You look like you're around my age."

"Don't let her fool you, Naruto," Teuchi laughed. "She may seem young, but she's certainly good at what she does."

Kyoko laughed knowingly, but in the back of her mind she could not believe it. _This _was the ninja that had saved the world from war and the mythical beast known as the ten-tails? He looked like a fool.

A chill immediately went up and down her spine, as she recalled a piece of information that she had not remembered before. Was Sasuke the other ninja that had helped Naruto end the war?

The more she thought about it the more she remembered hearing a few of the rumours mentioning Sasuke and Naruto's name. This was not good, she had blindly stepped into forbidden territory. Perhaps she should have paid more attention to the war.

"Uh," Naruto's voice rang out, interrupting her thoughts. "Kyoko?"

She looked up in surprise to see Teuchi, Ayame, and Naruto looking at her expectantly.

"Huh?" she asked in confusion, not knowing what anyone had been talking about. "Sorry, I was lost in thought."

She smiled brightly, it was a fake smile and a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth, but she was used to this nice, cheery act she constantly put on. Sometimes she even fooled herself into thinking she was happy.

"I was saying that it's great that you get to eat here for free for the rest of your life!" Naruto explained. "I mean, that's just awesome! Believe it!"

He gave her a thumbs up and, still, Kyoko could not believe how much of an idiot this guy was. Surely, she had him confused with another Naruto that saved the world from destruction, right?

Turning back to her meal, Kyoko finished it without saying anything else. As she was handing Teuchi the empty bowl and nodding in thanks, another person walked into the bar.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed. "Has granny Tsunade or Kakashi sensei gotten any news on the guy that stole your eye?"

Sasuke shook his head and sat down, "No, nothing. I don't see why we aren't out there looking for him."

"Well, the village still needs to recover," Naruto explained rationally. "Plus, there are no reports of anything really bad happening, so we should be OK, right? May as well regain our strength before we get into any more fights. I mean, you did just get that arm and all…"

"You sound like Sakura," Sasuke sighed. "Normally you're the one running for the exit with your leg still in a cast. What gives?"

Naruto sighed, "I've been wanting to go out ever since you told us, but granny Tsunade, Kakashi sensei and Sakura have told me not to. I was afraid that if I couldn't convince you of the same thing, you'd just leave without us…"

An uncomfortable silence filled the shop, as Kyoko listened to the conversation. She was right after all, Sasuke had gotten a new arm…but how? Plus, what was with the story of his eye being stolen? Was one of them a fake too?

With her curiosity eating away at her, she spoke up over the deafening silence, "What do you mean you had your eye stolen?"

Everyone looked up at the brown haired girl, and she immediately felt uncomfortable. She wasn't used to people noticing her.

"I didn't, technically, have my eye stolen," Sasuke explained. "I had my Rinnegan stolen. It's a rare ocular jutsu."

Kyoko nodded uncertainly. She wasn't sure what the Rinnegan was exactly, but she knew what ocular jutsus were. They were powerful techniques, but could be easily rendered useless if you knew how.

"I don't mean to interrupt," Teuchi spoke up. "But about that wheat…"

"Oh," Kyoko replied in surprise. "I'll get it right now. Just let me fetch my cart and my horse."

Sasuke looked at Teuchi and Kyoko in interest, but Kyoko didn't bother to explain it to him, since Naruto had begun to anyway.

By the time she came back with the wheat, Sasuke had finished a bowl of ramen and Naruto had slurped up the rest of his second.

They helped her carry the wheat into Teuchi's ramen bar and then, once they were done, Kyoko hopped back into her cart.

"You're not planning on leaving, are you?" Sasuke asked suspiciously, as he eyed her. "It's dark out."

"Ya," Naruto agreed. "There's way too many crazy ninja running around. Especially since Sasuke believes the Shadow Cat is nearby. Have you heard anything new about that ninja, Sasuke?"

"Nothing," Sasuke informed his companion, before looking to Kyoko. "What about you? You seem to know a lot about the Shadow Cat. Heard anything recently?"

Kyoko stiffened ever so slightly, "Nope, not at all. Haven't heard anything since I talked to you last."

"So we can't be certain that they're nearby," Sasuke began, eyeing Kyoko carefully. "Which means you should stay the night. You shouldn't risk your safety."

Kyoko bit her lip. Sasuke wasn't going to let this pass. Finally, she agreed, but secretly wished no ninja would dare do any wrong doing tonight. If they did, she'd have to intervene and that would mean blowing her cover. She'd have to start over and that wasn't an option. After all, she was a cat in the shadows, or rather, a black cat hiding behind the happy exterior of a peddler girl.


	6. The Gravitational Three

Naruto: Forever After

**Note: I do not own the Naruto universe or any of the Naruto/Naruto Shippuden characters (Masashi Kishimoto does).**

The Gravitational Three

"You have to come back soon to visit," Naruto smiled, as Kyoko prepared to leave Konoha. "You have all those free meals at Ichiraku's, it would be a shame not to use them…unless you want to give them to someone else…OW!"

Shoving Naruto in the ribs, Sakura forcefully smiled at the brown haired girl, "Just ignore this dim wit. You should visit again, though, and please take care of yourself."

"Thanks," Kyoko smiled a little nervously, since she didn't think anyone would show up to see her off. "Take care of yourself."

Sasuke stood there with the other two ninja, completely emotionless and stiff. It was almost as if he were studying her or expecting something to happen.

"Um…," Kyoko trailed off, feeling mildly uncomfortable under the raven haired ninja's gaze. "Take care of yourself too, Sasuke."

Breaking out of his trance, Sasuke closed his eyes and nodded, "Likewise."

As Kyoko set off through the entrance and waved cheerfully at the ninja who were waving her off, she couldn't help but over hear Sasuke and Sakura's conversation that made goose bumps appear on her arms.

"Jeez Sasuke," Sakura complained. "Why'd you have to be so cold? You just stood there."

Sasuke didn't reply right away, "I just have a feeling that this won't be the last time we see her, almost as though we'll be seeing her real soon."

Kyoko frowned, as she rode away from the gates. A dark look passed over her face and she wondered, for a second time, how much Sasuke truly knew.

She'd have to be careful around him in the future, if they really did meet again. It didn't matter know, though. She had made her stay purposely short and she had gotten what she had come for.

Only after travelling down the road for at least ten minutes did she dare stop her horse so she could get the item from the back of her cart.

What she had in her hand would assist her greatly in her quest of purging the world of its evils.

In her hands was a small bingo book created by ANBU ninja. Inside was every internationally declared criminal and their status, along with any information on them.

It was worth infiltrating the Hidden Leaf to obtain this book, since it gave her some guidance. She wasn't going to be blindly running around in the dark anymore.

There was one other thing she had obtained that had been worthwhile as well; a new ninja outfit. Her old one had become tattered and worn and she figured it was time to update her wardrobe.

As a peddler girl she wore an old dress and apron, however, when she wasn't pretending to be a peddler, she wore a black ninja outfit.

Her new one consisted of black pants, a fishnet undershirt and a low cut ninja top that had short sleeves. She had also splurged on some fingerless, black gloves that went up to her forearm. It was perfect when you added the heeled, black sandals she had been given in one of the more recent villages she had visited.

Hiding in some bushes, she quickly changed into her ninja attire, sandals included, before struggling to put her dress over top. She rolled up the pants so they weren't noticeable and then smiled to herself. She was ready. She put the gloves away in the big pocket in her apron and set the bingo book next to her, so she could look at it as she went.

A few moments later, the sunlight shining on the pages of the book darkened. Kyoko looked up to the sky to see dark rainclouds racing forward to meet her.

Something in her stomach churned and she had a feeling something bad was about to happen. Seeing a barn off in the distance, she made her way toward it.

Soon, she was asking the farmer if she could stay in the barn until the storm passes. He quickly agreed and offered her to stay in the house, but she refused, explaining that she was on a tight schedule and she had to go as soon as the storm passed.

He nodded and then let her into the barn and she thanked him for his hospitality, offering him some things in return as a form of payment.

The farmer quickly declined, despite her protests, and she was then left alone to contemplate her next move.

After she had put her horse in the barn, she began to tie down and secure her belonging in her cart outside.

The wind had really picked up and even the black cat, that was normally always by her side, ran into the barn to take shelter.

She watched the approaching storm clouds for a minute and noticed that they were heading south, toward the Hidden Leaf. Were they in danger? She couldn't help but shake the feeling that they were and she wondered if she should go back or not.

Surely they could deal with it themselves? They were a hidden village with many, many skilled ninja that had almost fully recovered the war, so why did not helping them leave a bad taste in her mouth?

She sighed frustratingly and decided to go anyway, but she would wait. It was too soon to show up and if she was seen, it would be far too suspicious. Retrieving the all too familiar black, cat mask with crystal eyes from the back of her cart, along with her cloak and ninja tools, she waited in the barn until she was sure it was safe enough to head out.

It was almost night by the time Kyoko left the barn. It had poured non-stop and twice the farmer had come in to check on her. The last time he came, she had said she was going to bed and there was no need to worry.

Now, dressed fully in her ninja attire, she left the barn with a ninja clone asleep in the hay. She quickly ran towards the Hidden Leaf, wondering what danger may lay ahead.

Rogue ninja perhaps? It was likely, but she knew they had to be strong because as she got closer and closer to the village, she could feel a large chakra presence.

At least the rain had stopped, but there were still puddles everywhere she went. It left the ground soggy and she frowned in disgust. She disliked getting wet, much like a cat.

The clouds that hung overhead provided the perfect cover for a surprise attack though and she was grateful that her mask allowed her to see in the darkest of places. Without it, her journey would have been much more difficult.

When she finally reached a hill that overlooked the path to the hidden village, her breath caught in her throat. The entire village was enveloped in some type gravity force field. She had been right after all. Whoever was doing this was extremely powerful and she got prepared accordingly.

As she ran toward the village, she took out her Dragon's Staff. It was a silver staff that could extend or shorten whenever she needed it to. It help her with many of her jutsus, especially wind style, and was quite a powerful item, like her mask.

Approaching the gate, she tested the force field by grabbing a rock and throwing inside the village's entrance, only to watch the small stone plummet and get embedded into the ground. Not good. She'd have to go around.

Making haste she ran around the barrier and toward the spot where she could feel the powerful chakra emitting.

She concealed her chakra as she approached, wary of any other enemies nearby and planning a surprise attack, in order to lift the gravitational jutsu that was being used.

Running up one the sides of the cliff that held the faces of the six Hokage, she observed the village below. People were crying out in pain, as they laid down flat on their stomachs, weighed down and completely immobile. The houses were creaking, as though on the verge of collapsing.

Her blood boiled and when she was almost at the top of the mountain, she hid behind some shrubbery and saw the people responsible.

"The five great nations will all bow down before us," the elderly man with black and grey hair announced ominously. "The rogue ninja from the land of Iron will see to that."

She watched in silence, as his two companions looked on in smug victory at what they had accomplished.

The man that had just spoken, had a long beard, a big potbelly and was on the short side. The woman to his left, had light blue hair that was done up in an elegant bun, while the young man to his right, had straight, blond hair that went down to his shoulders.

"He's right you know," the blond haired guy smirked, while his open jacket blew in the wind with nothing underneath except for a long scar on his bare skin. "The gravitational three is going to tear your village apart, so that the other villages know not to mess with us and our boss's plans."

"You mean the guy that plans on using the Shinju tree's wood as some kind of weapon?" Kyoko heard Sasuke yell from somewhere down below. "What do you plan on doing?"

"It's no fun to just tell you," the blue haired woman's snarky voice broke in. "You'll just have to wait and see."

"Yes," the man in the middle nodded. "But how did you know about that? Takeo hasn't been blabbing again, has he?"

"He's going to get in so much trouble," the girl's replied nasally before letting out an equally unflattering laugh. "I can't wait to see that."

"You guys aren't going to get away with this!" Naruto struggled to yell from below. "So why don't you come down here and fight! Stop being cowards!"

The three of them laughed simultaneously, before the blond haired guy replied with a smug look, "We'd love to stay and play some more, but unfortunately, we have some other things to do."

They each rose their hands up in the air, preparing to increase the gravity and Kyoko quickly saw her chance.

Throwing her kunai with a black paper bomb attached, she quickly ran forward and then detonated it in front of the trio.

Coughing and emerging from the smoke, the three separated, looking rather shocked and pissed off at the same time.

The blue haired girl looked around with her teeth gritted and her eyes open wide, "Who did that-?"

She was cut off when a force slammed into her, knocking her to the village floor below.

"Suzue!" the middle and oldest man exclaimed. "Oh no, she fell into the gravitational field!"

He landed on the head of the third Hokage, before a ginormous gust of wind knocked him off of his feet from behind, also sending him into the village below.

"Alright, show yourself," the yellow haired man with the scar demanded, as the gravitational barrier disappeared. "Damn this wasn't part of the plan."

He brought out a sword from his side and blocked Kyoko's attack from behind. He stared into the crystal eyes of the mask and smirked, "So it's you. We should have guessed you'd come here."

The two ninja jumped apart and faced off on the heads of the previous Hokage. Kyoko could hear the people of the village stir as they got up off of the ground and ran for cover. There were a few remarks of surprise and she swore she heard someone say, "Is that the Shadow Cat?"

A few people stopped to stare in awe, but she ignored it and instead focused on the ninja in front of her.

"The name's Ronin," he introduced himself casually. "I'll have you know I was the best samurai in my day. You won't win against me."

He smiled in his creepy, usual way and she stood there calmly, waiting for him to strike first.

He yelled out and slashed his sword out in front of him, "Gravitational slash."

Jumping out of the way, she watched the slash slam into the rock behind her. It tore up the ground and she realized that she had to be careful not to get hit by his powerful attacks.

Without hesitation, he sent another slash her way. She quickly used the substitution jutsu to narrowly avoid his attack and noted how quick he was. Ronin sure wasn't wasting any time. She figured that he had used up a lot of his chakra casting the jutsu over the village and was eager to end this battle before he became exhausted.

She landed behind him and saw him panting already. He was open, so she grabbed her kunai and ran in for the attack.

At the last second, she saw him smile and realised too late that he had created a gravitational field around himself.

Being pulled down to the ground, she was helpless when he used his gravitational slash again. She wasn't even able to weave the hand signs needed to make a substitution.

With great force, she was hit near point blank and sent crashing down into the village in a cloud of dust and debris.

Ronin laughed manically while panting, "How do you like that? The Shadow Cat isn't so tough after all."

When the dust cleared, however, she wasn't even there. Behind a building, another ninja stood with her.

"Are you alright?" he whispered, as they sat in the shadows. "Do you need me to summon the medic ninja?"

Kyoko gritted her teeth and nodded reluctantly. She could only see the glinting yellow eyes of the ninja that stood before her.

Within moments two more ninjas were there to heal her wounds, while she turned and watched the action that was unfolding before her.

The man with the beard was taking on Sasuke and Naruto, who were being knocked around like ping pong balls. The man may have had a potbelly, but he was by no means slow. His speed along with his gravitational palm technique were enough to send the two hidden leaf ninja effortlessly and helplessly in one direction and then the next.

"Hey, Mamoru," Ronin shouted out, landing on the ground with relative ease. "Stop playing around with those two. We have work to do. Plus, I need your help finding that pesky cat. Suzue that goes for you too. Stop messing around."

Kyoko looked up to see the female ninja floating effortlessly around in the air, laughing, while Sakura and another ninja of the Hidden Leaf, whom she had never met before, tried to land an attack from what appeared to be a drawing of a bird.

"Kyoko," her companion prodded her. "They're done healing your wounds the best they can. Would you like my assistance in this battle?"

Kyoko nodded her thanks, as the two medical ninja disappeared in a cloud of smoke and then turned to him, "Yes. It would be helpful thank you."

Her companion looked out at the battle scene, "Who's my target?"

Kyoko considered for a moment before replying, "The big one, Mamoru. Be careful, he's fast. It must be because of his gravity jutsu."

Her companion nodded and she got up off of the ground to prepare herself for their counterstrike.

"Stop being so bossy," Mamoru protested. "I'm the eldest here, but I am getting rather bored of this."

As Mamoru quickly disappeared and prepared for one final blow, Kyoko whispered, "Attack him now with something powerful. Based on how fast he's moved, he's extremely light right now."

Her companion nodded and then disappeared, as she turned her attention to Ronin. He was fast, but she could be faster.

Holding up two fingers she concentrated. The beating of her heart, the sound of the wind, her companions fleeting footsteps and the mere speck of dust blowing by her strands of hair. She was ready.

Opening her eyes, she launched herself forward, and the world around her seemed to move in slow motion.

To give herself more speed, she formed the hand signs for a jutsu her companions had taught her, Chidori. How they had come across such a jutsu, she was unsure, but it was definitely a useful and very powerful technique.

Sensing her coming, Ronin turned to face her. The lightning from her chidori lit up the surprise on his face, as she came at him without giving him any time to react.

She launched him in the air toward Suzue, while her companion to the right of her did the same to Mamoru, before he could land a devastating blow on Sasuke and Naruto.

Both of the rogue ninja slammed into their companion in midair, while Kyoko leapt above them and spun her Dragon's staff quickly.

The three turned to look at her with fear on their faces, as she let loose a very powerful cyclone from her silver staff, knocking them all to the ground with such force, they left a crater in the ground.

Satisfied that they had been knocked out cold, she quickly left the scene and found a place to hide and rest.

Her companion met up with her and watched as she winced in pain. Her skin burned and she winced in pain. The downside to using her Godspeed jutsu was that it burned her skin and caused her tremendous pain, since her body was not made to move that fast.

"You shouldn't have pushed yourself that hard," her companion scolded. "You were already injured and you know what that jutsu does to you."

She took off her mask and winced. There were markings on her face and whiskers had begun to poke out from her cheeks. She knew what she looked like, since she had seen herself before like this before.

"You've taken in slightly too much natural energy again," her companion scolded. "I've told you it's dangerous to do that technique when you're not-."

"I know, I know," Kyoko interrupted, tracing the red swirls around her eyes with her finger. "Stop complaining already Raiden. Did you bring the staff or not?"

Her companions sighed and brought out a tiny staff with feathers and stuff from his shirt. When she looked up at him, his cat face looked down at her.

Raiden was indeed a ninja cat, but no one else needed to know that. If people knew she really was affiliated with ninja cats, they would know exactly where to go to find her. The ninja cat underworld.

Raiden smirked down at her, his tiny canines poking out, "You know I'm going to enjoy hitting you over the head with this."

Kyoko sighed, "Just do it already."

With a thwack, Raiden knocked the brown haired ninja in the back of the head, knocking the natural energy right out of her.

"Did you have to hit me so hard?" Kyoko asked in protest, staring at the lightning shaped mark down the center of his head. "That really hurt."

"Maybe you'll learn next time not to be so reckless, Nya," he replied simply, putting the staff back inside his shirt. "You're far too reckless for your own good."

Kyoko frowned at him and he gradually became invisible to her. It was dark where they were hiding and her eyes must have returned to normal.

On top of having increased speed, flexibility, hearing and strength when she took in natural energy, which she was told was called sage mode, she also gained cat eyes, which helped her see in the dark and improved her sight overall.

"You're lucky you even got to sign a contract with us," Raiden continued. "Ninja cats have only had one previous ninja that we've signed a contract with…"

Kyoko rolled her eyes, "So you've told me already."

"Did you see that?" an excited kid's voice broke out. "It was the Shadow Cat! They were so strong."

"That was really something," another man chimed in. "If they hadn't shown up, we might have been done for."

The villagers continued to chat away and, suddenly, she heard some familiar voices.

"Spread out and look for the Shadow Cat," a ninja called out. "Don't let them escape."

"Keep your eyes out for an accomplice," Sasuke warned. "There were two of them."

Kyoko gritted her teeth, "Damn it."

"I'm sorry," Raiden apologized. "I let myself be seen."

"Don't worry about it," Kyoko shrugged. "It's his Sharingan. We just have to get out of here without being seen."

"I know," Raiden nodded. "And Sharingan? That wouldn't happen to be Sasuke Uchiha, would it?"

"You know him?" Kyoko asked. "When were you going to tell me that you knew someone from the Hidden Leaf? If he did get a good glimpse of you, he'll know how to find me."

Raiden looked troubled, "It's a long story."

"Save it," she snapped, putting her mask back on. "Go back to the underworld, I'll find my own way out."

"But," Raiden began to protest. "You're still injured."

"I'll be fine," Kyoko assured. "On my own."

Raiden frowned sadly, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Kyoko stared off into space. She had come this far on her own. She didn't need anyone. Not since that day.

With that, she got up and quickly departed the Hidden Leaf. Perhaps she wouldn't be getting free ramen for life, since she didn't plan on ever coming back to the Hidden Leaf ever again.


End file.
